Riding with cows and bulls
When I first started trail riding we never worried much about the cows and we never had any bulls on the trail, but things have changed. Where we ride they have mother cows as well as beef cows, so we have adults and calves to deal with and not one or two there are large groups of 30 or more that we can be with at one time. Recently we have also run into at least 3 bulls in different areas on the trail.
Instead of finding out by trial and error on what to do I thought I should post some info on cows and our experiences with them.
Usually cows will move out of your way when you approach them but over recent years, the younger cows have become less afraid and more curious. To move a cow out of your way you can approach it with your horse, but approach it slowly, if you make any fast or sudden movements with your horse, you can spook all the cows and they will run which can spook your horse as well. I have seen cows try to run up cliffs and slide down the hill which then spooked a totally mellow horse that then reared and the rider almost fell off. I have seen cows blocking single tracks and when pushed too fast ran up the side of the hills and then the cows behind ran around the horses up the hills and through the bushes, again spooking the horses who luckily did not fall off the single track and down the hill. The worst one of all was when something spooked a young herd of cows that came running over the hill. A rider on the other side was on her arab which froze and then took off. The young cows seeing the running horse then ran at the horse to follow it, the rider fell off and the horse ran into a metal fence and died. We saw this entire episode. the police came, the farmer came and all they kept saying was that the cows were not aggressive and they didn't know why the cows chased her. It was after this that I really began to research cows and their behavior. Some of you may never see a stampede like this, but when there are kids, dogs and adults on the trails, it may not be as uncommon as you think. I have even seen horse trainers take their dogs on the trail. The dogs chased the cows and the trainers had no control and yes this was after the incident. So you cannot rely on others to keep you safe, you must rely on your knowledge and your instinct and no it is not funny to see the dogs chase the cows as that is probably what started the stampede in the first place.
Mothers and their calves can be quite aggressive and if at all possible you never want to go in between them to separate them. Also always keep your eyes on the mother in case she charges. An aggressive cow will not move when pushed, it may put on an aggressive display as putting its head down, pawing at the ground, swinging its head side to side. If this happens slowly move away from the cow do not test it and move forward, slowly move away, but try to keep your eyes on it the whole time. If you run away the cow and the rest of the herd will most likely chase as you have started its instinct just like a cat running sets off a dog to chase. So always try to move away slowly if possible.
If you see a bull, stay out of its way if at all possible, they do not usually have a flight mode like the cows, they are usually all fight and are unpredictable. Even a mellow bull can wake up in a bad mood one day and turn.
You may also see cows head butting and mounting each other and you will see them pushing each other around. They may also do this to your horse if you are close enough and yes I have had a cow that came up to a horse I was walking, it smelled the horses tail and then tried to mount it, so don't let your guard down. Every year we get new calves, so even though we teach the others to move away from us, it starts all over every year, as the cows end up in safeway or a local restaurant.
So here is some advice with riding with cows and bulls
If a cow comes at you when you are riding by, do not let it follow, turn your horse around and try
to push the cow away, yell, scream whatever you need to do. Once it turns keep checking back, if it follows again repeat, if you don't the cow and all his friends may follow you. Also know that baby cows are playful and curious. They will try to come at you and when you push them away, they may run and buck which can excite your horse. They also may stand in small groups and test you.
If a cow is blocking the trail, slowly try to push it off by going towards it with your horse, try to direct the cow a specific way, if you don't it may jump up the hill and like I mentioned before it could slide down on you and your horse.
Go around all mother cows with babies if possible and watch any calves as they are very curious and may want to come touch or mount your horse.
If there is a stampede your horse may spin or run, the hard part is to actually think when this is happening. If your horse runs and the cows see it, they may chase your horse, so if possible try to get your horse to stay in one spot or if you are far enough away, move to another trail or somewhere safe. Cows can run up and down hills but they are usually faster down hill then your horse will be so if no choice and you see a hill, run up the hill and try to get to a gate where the cows cannot go through.
If you get off the cows are not likely to chase you unless you run but they could run over you, so if you get off it is best to hide behind something solid. Sometimes there is no great answer and you just have to hope it all ends well but hopefully by reading this it will help you not to get in a situation.
If you see a bull, stay as far away as possible at least 20 feet, if it puts on aggressive behavior, slowly move away, remember cows are like horses- flight or fight, bulls are all fight.
The bull in the picture below is showing aggressive stance, you would not want to approach a cow or bull that looks like this. We had a bull blocking our trail yesterday and this is what it did, we took a left instead and went the other way.
When I first started trail riding we never worried much about the cows and we never had any bulls on the trail, but things have changed. Where we ride they have mother cows as well as beef cows, so we have adults and calves to deal with and not one or two there are large groups of 30 or more that we can be with at one time. Recently we have also run into at least 3 bulls in different areas on the trail.
Instead of finding out by trial and error on what to do I thought I should post some info on cows and our experiences with them.
Usually cows will move out of your way when you approach them but over recent years, the younger cows have become less afraid and more curious. To move a cow out of your way you can approach it with your horse, but approach it slowly, if you make any fast or sudden movements with your horse, you can spook all the cows and they will run which can spook your horse as well. I have seen cows try to run up cliffs and slide down the hill which then spooked a totally mellow horse that then reared and the rider almost fell off. I have seen cows blocking single tracks and when pushed too fast ran up the side of the hills and then the cows behind ran around the horses up the hills and through the bushes, again spooking the horses who luckily did not fall off the single track and down the hill. The worst one of all was when something spooked a young herd of cows that came running over the hill. A rider on the other side was on her arab which froze and then took off. The young cows seeing the running horse then ran at the horse to follow it, the rider fell off and the horse ran into a metal fence and died. We saw this entire episode. the police came, the farmer came and all they kept saying was that the cows were not aggressive and they didn't know why the cows chased her. It was after this that I really began to research cows and their behavior. Some of you may never see a stampede like this, but when there are kids, dogs and adults on the trails, it may not be as uncommon as you think. I have even seen horse trainers take their dogs on the trail. The dogs chased the cows and the trainers had no control and yes this was after the incident. So you cannot rely on others to keep you safe, you must rely on your knowledge and your instinct and no it is not funny to see the dogs chase the cows as that is probably what started the stampede in the first place.
Mothers and their calves can be quite aggressive and if at all possible you never want to go in between them to separate them. Also always keep your eyes on the mother in case she charges. An aggressive cow will not move when pushed, it may put on an aggressive display as putting its head down, pawing at the ground, swinging its head side to side. If this happens slowly move away from the cow do not test it and move forward, slowly move away, but try to keep your eyes on it the whole time. If you run away the cow and the rest of the herd will most likely chase as you have started its instinct just like a cat running sets off a dog to chase. So always try to move away slowly if possible.
If you see a bull, stay out of its way if at all possible, they do not usually have a flight mode like the cows, they are usually all fight and are unpredictable. Even a mellow bull can wake up in a bad mood one day and turn.
You may also see cows head butting and mounting each other and you will see them pushing each other around. They may also do this to your horse if you are close enough and yes I have had a cow that came up to a horse I was walking, it smelled the horses tail and then tried to mount it, so don't let your guard down. Every year we get new calves, so even though we teach the others to move away from us, it starts all over every year, as the cows end up in safeway or a local restaurant.
So here is some advice with riding with cows and bulls
If a cow comes at you when you are riding by, do not let it follow, turn your horse around and try
to push the cow away, yell, scream whatever you need to do. Once it turns keep checking back, if it follows again repeat, if you don't the cow and all his friends may follow you. Also know that baby cows are playful and curious. They will try to come at you and when you push them away, they may run and buck which can excite your horse. They also may stand in small groups and test you.
If a cow is blocking the trail, slowly try to push it off by going towards it with your horse, try to direct the cow a specific way, if you don't it may jump up the hill and like I mentioned before it could slide down on you and your horse.
Go around all mother cows with babies if possible and watch any calves as they are very curious and may want to come touch or mount your horse.
If there is a stampede your horse may spin or run, the hard part is to actually think when this is happening. If your horse runs and the cows see it, they may chase your horse, so if possible try to get your horse to stay in one spot or if you are far enough away, move to another trail or somewhere safe. Cows can run up and down hills but they are usually faster down hill then your horse will be so if no choice and you see a hill, run up the hill and try to get to a gate where the cows cannot go through.
If you get off the cows are not likely to chase you unless you run but they could run over you, so if you get off it is best to hide behind something solid. Sometimes there is no great answer and you just have to hope it all ends well but hopefully by reading this it will help you not to get in a situation.
If you see a bull, stay as far away as possible at least 20 feet, if it puts on aggressive behavior, slowly move away, remember cows are like horses- flight or fight, bulls are all fight.
The bull in the picture below is showing aggressive stance, you would not want to approach a cow or bull that looks like this. We had a bull blocking our trail yesterday and this is what it did, we took a left instead and went the other way.